Articles by John Loeffler, Components Editor

John (He/Him) is the Components Editor here at TechRadar and he is also a programmer, gamer, activist, and Brooklyn College alum currently living in Brooklyn, NY.

Named by the CTA as a CES 2020 Media Trailblazer for his science and technology reporting, John specializes in all areas of computer science, including industry news, hardware reviews, PC gaming, as well as general science writing and the social impact of the tech industry.

John has a Bachelor’s degree in English and is currently in the wrapping up a Master’s program in Computer Science, where he spends his evenings building digital circuits, multiboxing Linux kernels, and coding shell scripts.

You can usually find him on Bluesky (@@johnloeffler.bsky.social) where you’ll get hot takes on stuff as well as reposting content that is almost as good as the worst content you used to be able to find on Vine.

Articles by: John Loeffler

A Razer Blade 14 (2025) on a desk with its lid facing the viewer

Razer Blade 14 (2025) review: the only gaming laptop I’d happily carry everywhere

By John Loeffler

Recommended

The Razer Blade 14 (2025) is one of the best thin and light gaming laptops you're going to find today, assuming you can afford its premium price.

A group of young professionals sitting together with their laptops on the table

The 7 most important laptop features to consider when heading back to school

By John Loeffler

Before you buy a laptop for school, consider these 7 key features to help you make the right choice.

An AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X on a table with its retail packaging

I spent about two weeks trying to destroy the AMD Threadripper 9980X, and I can say for sure that only a few people will love this chip—but I'm one of them

By John Loeffler

Recommended

The Threadripper 9980X sets a new standard in multi-core performance for top-tier creative and technical workloads, but it's not right for everyone.

An AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X on a table with its retail packaging

I've tested dozens of processors over the years, and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X manages to thread a perfect balance of workstation performance, I/O, and price

By John Loeffler

Editor's Choice

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X is a refined, higher-clocked 32-core HEDT chip delivering exceptional raw and responsive performance for professional workloads—without busting your budget.

A Dell 14 Premium vs Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch against a two-tone TechRadar background

I spent days testing the Dell 14 Premium vs Apple MacBook Pro 14 to find out which is the best 14-inch laptop – and the results are in

By John Loeffler

I spent days putting the Dell 14 Premium against the MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 to see which is the better laptop, and the result is rather surprising.

Photographer with Nikon Z f at golden hour

Best Photoshop courses online of 2025

By Mayank Sharma

Updated We list the best Photoshop courses online, to make it simple and easy to either learn or expand on your existing skills at Photoshop with these free and paid-for courses.

An OdinLake Ergo Butterfly 753 in an office

I’ve reviewed a lot of chairs in my career, but the OdinLake Ergo Butterfly 753 is one of the few I’d want for my own office

By John Loeffler

The OdinLake Ergo Butterfly 753 delivers customizable upper and lower back support, a premium build, and an excellent warranty, but it’ll cost you.

Study up on Wi-Fi security before you head back to school

By John Loeffler

Public Wi-Fi networks are plentiful, especially around school campuses, but they can pose risks if you're not security-conscious.

I've been reviewing Dell XPS laptops for half a decade, and the Dell 14 Premium is as close as they've ever come to dethroning the MacBook Pro

By John Loeffler

Recommended

The Dell 14 Premium isn't perfect, but it's as close as Windows users will likely get to a real MacBook Pro 14-inch alternative.

I've tested more than a hundred laptops in my career, and the Dell 16 Premium is the only MacBook Pro rival worth considering

By John Loeffler

Recommended

The Dell 16 Premium lives up to its name, beating out the MacBook Pro 16-inch in most of the ways that matter.

Logos of some of the best html to pdf converter picks against a two-tone techradar background

Best HTML to PDF converter of 2025

By John Faulds

Updated We list the best HTML to PDF converters, to make it simple and easy to prevent the altering of formatting and web links when converting any web page into a document.

A trio of monitors against a beige TechRadar background

I love my monitors, but if I were going to buy a new one, these Prime Day monitor deals would have my money in a heartbeat

By John Loeffler

Great displays can be expensive, so you're not going to want to miss these deals on Amazon right now.

Three laptops against a pink TechRadar background

I know you've been avoiding it, but now's the best time to save big on back-to-school shopping with these Prime Day laptop deals

By John Loeffler

Amazon Prime Day is the perfect chance to acquire a laptop ready for the end of the summer holiday, and there are some big discounts you'd hate to miss.

Best Adobe Portfolio alternative of 2025

By Alexis James

Updated We list the best Adobe Portfolio alternatives, to make it simple and easy to better manage your images.

An AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT next to its retail packaging on a table

AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT review: a compelling value whichever version you pick

By John Loeffler

Recommended

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT offers good value in both its 16GB and 8GB versions, though both still lag behind when competing with Nvidia's offerings.

A Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch on a desk

I finally got the Purple MacBook I've been begging for, it just turned out to be the 13-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop

By John Loeffler

Recommended

While the Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch is about as close as a Windows laptop can come to being a MacBook Air on the outside, its weaker hardware and display put it at a distant second.

A Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch vs MacBook Air 13-inch against a two-tone background

I put the new Surface Laptop 13-inch head-to-head with the MacBook Air 13-inch, and the results are telling

By John Loeffler

Putting the Surface Laptop 13-inch vs MacBook Air 13-inch to the test

The Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 is a very affordable 2-in-1, with some compromises

By John Loeffler

Recommended

The Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 is a very solid and affordable pick, especially for students.

Computex 2025 live: all the latest from the world's largest computing show in Taipei

By Matt Hanson

Computex 2025 Computex 2025 is the world's biggest computing show where companies like AMD, Nvidia and Qualcomm show off their latest devices - and we're reporting live from the show floor in Taipei, Taiwan.